The Battle of Cologne
by thelostsoul565
Summary: King Charles II "the Bald" Thinks about his final moments, before he comes to face the Army of King Ludwig "The German" and King Lothair. This is based off of a recent game of Crusader kings II that I played as my favorite character, King Charles.


How dissapointed Grandfather would be if he saw us today.

I looked across the battlefield, stroking my beard, as I looked across the plain, the bright circle in the sky shines down upon the troops and I, possibly even forgiving the fact that we are here today. Arnulf, my Marshal, leads the center with me, as my second son, Carloman, flanked us from behind. The river of the Rhine flows in the distance, as I see the banners that have longed flown for both sides, for me, and my Kin. yet now, I look at the flag, the eagle which was supposed to restore the legacy of Rome, now bearing disappointment.

Yet not even I could complain. The eagle stands tall, bearing the weight of a thousand dynasties, including mine. As King of the Western Franks, and claimant to an empire now broken, the fighting was inevitable. Such power over the Tribes of Germania, the land of the Old Lombards, and the Saxons, now extinct, was much coveted by us all. Now, even my firstborn son, Louis, plots against me. I suppose that was my own personal fault,as I gave him the entirety of the Kingdom of Aquitaine to rule over. His own sin of greed was my doing, and yet, I have no regrets.

Sadly, he would not help me fend off our Kin, looking for greed that which had overcame me at one decided it would be in his interests to turn his gaze to the broken parts of Al-Andalus. Arnulf offered to go into battle himself, along with the troops now with us, but I had declined. This was the final battle, the one i had seen in my dreams, the one to end the suffering of a dying world.

My Older brother, King Ludwig, "The German" as he calls himself, has decided with another part of my kin, King Lothaire, that an Alliance to secure our ancestors homeland, which is in my position, was important to keeping the empire together. With their agreement, they had declared war on me. How thoughtful was it that the Norse decided to raid the Western Coast at the time, knowing that the Kingdom of West Francia's time was up, and reaped the benefits that came with the supposed downfall.

"Your orders, My liege?" I heard Arnulf quietly say, as the entire 4,000 troops go silent to hear their next move. The River was the one thing separating us from them. I could see the face of my brother from the front line, how wise he looked, as he stood next to Lothaire, knowing that this was also the final battle for them. A thousand roars came from the troops behind them, as they slowly, but surely attempted to make their way through the river, knowing that the amount of levy they had combined, can easily crush us into the ground.

"We Wait Arnulf, and hope, that even in god, salvation can be found for the dead that there will be today." Deathly silence came afterwards. I drew my blade, and looked at the levy that has served me till the end.

"Father, you're not actually suggesting that we will not retreat?" I heard the fear in Carlomans eyes. Even though he was a military commander, this was only the second time he has been of the battlefield, the first time only spectating from afar from the previous battle in Luxembourg. He did not deserve the pressure of this rivalry that has gotten out of hand, no, he will not have to.

"Carloman, I want you and 500 men to escape from here, and run, run as far as you can, until you don't even see a single speck in the distance.."

His eyes widened, even horrified at the fact that i told him to run. It seems I have to be a bit more firm..

"I can't abandon you Father! I wa-"

"As your King, I command you to leave."

Silence, just Silence, nothing more than emptiness. This was my decision, and I knew I had to see it through, this was it.

"As You Majesty.." I saw him walk off in the distance, collecting a small form around to protect him from anything that comes near.

I turned back to the River to see that they were almost across. The Roars were louder now. Yet, It was no longer a River, It was not an ocean of Yellow dots, ready to pounce on their enemy.

As I yelled the command to charge, I closed my eyes for the final time, and knew, that in the future, our dynasty will never have to fight again, that our disputes can be settled, and peace can reign again, just like it did under grandfather's reign.

 _The Battle of Cologne in 872 was the final battle of King Ludwig's claim to the West Francian throne, as during the fight, King Charles II "The Bald" was Killed in battle, lost under the massacre and Last stand of the 3,500 Franks who, in a last ditch effort, used the Rhine river as a defence against the 11000 combined arms of King Lothair II of Lotharingia,and King East Francia. The West Franks managed to kill about half of the attacking army. A loss of about 5,200 were recorded for the Lotharingia and East Franks, before they managed to push through and massacre the remaining Soldiers._

 _Fortunately, Arnulf managed to make it back to King Louis "The Stammerer" of Aquitaine's realm to tell him of the sacrifice of their father. Later, King Louis was named King of West Francia and Aquitaine. With fresh troops from Aquitaine, King Louis managed to push back the advance of the Lothar-East Francian alliance. The new alliance forged between Louis of Italy and Louis of West Francia and Aquitaine, forced King Ludwig and King Lothair to sign a White peace. In all, The claim to West Francia could have been asserted, for it not be for Arnulf to quickly come back, and inform King Louis of Aquitaine. Even though in the future the Carolingian dynasty would be wiped out, there tales will told forever there are humans that exist to tell them._


End file.
